Red Sox Release Catcher After Five Seasons With Organization

The Boston Red Sox have been busy this offseason and continue to make moves throughout the organization.

On Friday, the Red Sox released Enderso Lira, a catcher they signed as an international free agent in 2021. Lira spent five seasons in the minor leagues for the Red Sox and reached Triple-A Worcester last season.

In 167 minor league games with the Red Sox, he had a .203/.287/.258 slash line. He played two games in Triple-A last season, going 1-for-3 with a walk. The 22-year-old out of Venezuela could land a minor league deal with another team as catching depth.

With Carlos Narváez and Connor Wong on the 40-man roster and already in the big leagues, there was no real path for Lira to reach the big leagues. Additionally, the Red Sox reportedly agreed to a minor league deal with Matt Thaiss recently.

Thaiss figures to be insurance in case the Red Sox deal with injuries at the big league level, meaning Lira essentially had no way to play a role next season. Lira became just another catcher after Thaiss signed.

Thaiss is a much better option to stash in Triple-A as depth than Lira. He has seven seasons of big league experience and has hit 23 home runs in the big leagues. Last season, he played in 60 games between the Chicago White Sox and Tampa Bay Rays.

In the end, Lira was not the best option for the Red Sox to have in Triple-A in case something happened to Wong or Narváez. Had he performed better last season, the Red Sox may have been comfortable having him in Triple-A on the off chance they needed him.\

Lira’s struggles as a hitter ultimately led to Boston moving on from him after five seasons of trying to develop him. He never had a batting average above .250 in any season in the minor leagues.